Pros and Cons of Cloud Storage for Businesses

Each year, more businesses turn to cloud solutions for storing business files – documents, spreadsheets, images, etc. As security in the cloud becomes stronger, especially through token and encryption techniques, business leaders have warmed to cloud storage as a way to cut costs, create efficiencies and take advantage of third-party expertise. Forbes estimates that, by 2018, at least half of IT spending will be cloud-based. Before business leaders move their company information offsite, there are a number of cloud storage pros and cons worth considering.

Why Businesses Store Files in the Cloud

Companies realize a number of obvious benefits of cloud file storage:

1. Cloud storage allows users to work wherever they are. Documents are shared seamlessly across office locations, facilitating better collaboration among staff. Employees can access information whether they’re at the office, at home or on the road. All that’s needed is a laptop (or other electronic device) and an internet connection.

2. It may save on company bandwidth. When files are routinely emailed back and forth, it can stress a company’s IT infrastructure. Like a crowded highway, it slows down traffic and creates storage challenges. Storing business files in the cloud, however, places the burden of keeping traffic flowing squarely on a third-party provider. Plus scalability can be accomplished almost instantaneously.

3. Cost savings are another big benefit of cloud storage. Cloud providers distribute storage and service costs across many businesses, passing much of the savings along to their clients. Storing files in the cloud enables most businesses to cut back on hardware and maintenance expenses, including labor costs.

4. When a business suffers a catastrophic event – a fire, natural disaster, data hijacking or total systems crash – cloud storage is a reliable way to manage disaster recovery. Files are stored securely offsite and can be easily and effectively replaced.

5. Most cloud storage platforms have the added benefit of applications and other tools that allow businesses to optimize their information. Many cloud providers make it possible for businesses to stream files (such as audio or video) directly to customers, upload and download content directly from mobile apps and websites, host and serve the static assets of websites, and run data analysis programshave developed business intelligence (BI) analytic tools that help companies sort, understand and use the big data they accrue throughout the course of doing business.

Considerations of Cloud Storage

Security has always been a top consideration when it comes to storing information in the cloud. Businesses with sensitive information may be especially concerned about public cloud security, as firewalls between company information and that of other businesses could, theoretically at least, fail.

Despite the improved security most public cloud providers demonstrate today, some data-sensitive businesses have resigned themselves to internal or private cloud storage of business files. A private cloud may be good for companies that have already established their own data centers, but it does require on-premises IT staff to manage it, not to mention the expense of maintaining hardware.

Other businesses prefer to use a storage service that’s fully administered by someone else but still has an increased level of privacy. These operate a lot like the other public cloud storage services but with one major difference: the data is encrypted and stored in a way that nobody except the business can access it. Even the employees of the service can’t access the files.

Some businesses are now using a hybrid of private and public cloud services. Certain files are stored locally, while other files are deployed to the cloud. A hybrid cloud solution must meet certain key requirements to make it work. For example, it must appear seamless to users. Hybrid clouds also depend on policy engines to define when specific files get moved into the cloud or pulled from it.

Cloud Storage Options

Cloud storage options are expanding rapidly, as more and more vendors enter the market. For storing flat files, businesses often look to Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure) and Oracle (Cloud File System and Cloud Infrastructure Storage) for various products or platforms that address their individual needs.

Companies looking for help in selecting, integrating and taking full advantage of these platforms might find it beneficial to engage a technology consultant. As the #1 onshore provider and pioneer of remote DBA services, RDX puts technology to work for business worldwide. From needs analysis to production deployment, RDX’s cloud solutions help businesses successfully navigate every phase of the cloud journey. RDX enables customers to fully leverage the inherent benefits of cloud architectures and assists them in overcoming some of the more challenging cloud activities.